Knitting-machine.



A. 0. TIMMING.

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 18, 1910.

1,000,460. P ented Aug. 15, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Fig.1..

fhp usf C. Zl/fSJ/i' Q i 7720022231:

' Ma @444. v

M; 9 7*y- W- A. G. TIMMING.

KNITTING MACHINE. APBLIOATION FILED AUG. 18, 1910.

1,000,460. Patented Aug. 15,1911;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. I Jimm AUGUST C. TIMIVIING, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TOMISHAWAKA WOOLEN MANUFACTURING (30., OF MISI-IAWAKA, INDIANA, ACORPORATION OF INDIANA.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

roooaco.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUeUsr C. TIMMING, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inKnitting-Machines, of which the following is a specificat-ion.

My invention relates to improvements in circular knitting machines, andparticularly to the bed plate and the cam and needle cylinders of suchmachines.

The object of the invention resides in the provision of means whereby aneedle may be easily and quickly removed from the cylinder, and aseasily and quickly replaced, without necessitating the removal of theneedle cylinder from the machine.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of meanswhereby a broken needle may be handily replaced by another, and thebroken part received into a chamber out of the way of the operative partof the machine, without interfering with or stopping the operation ofthe machine.

IVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, as hereinafter described and pointed outin the claims.

In the drawings employed for illustrating the preferred embodiment ofthe invention:-Figure 1 is a side elevation of the bed plate, cam andneedle cylinders of a circular knitting machine, Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryvertical sectional view of the parts indicated in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 isa fragmentary side elevation of a needle cylinder.

The tubular needle cylinder 1, is provided with a plurality of radiallydisposed needle slots 2, in which the needles are mounted for verticalreciprocation in the usual manner. The needle slots are formed by spacedribs 3, which extend radially from the cylinder body, thus forming anannular ofiset 4, the purpose of which will be presently explained.Similar spaced ribs 5, extend from the upper end of the cylinder butshorter in depth, and the slots 'formed by the spacing of the ribs arein alinement with the aforesaid slots. The lower ends of the upper ribsand the upper ends of the lower ribs terminate short of each other, andthus form an annular groove or recess 6, intersecting all of the slots,and adapted to receive a coil spring band 7, which yieldingly bearsSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application fi1ed August 18, 1910.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

Serial No. 577,773.

against the shanks of the needles mounted in the slots, and holds themin sliding engagement with the cylinder body so that they will be freeto have vertical reciprocation, but held against lateral displacement.

The lower ed e of the needle cylinder is mounted upon ing ring 8, whichlatter is supported by the bed plate 9 by means of adjusting screw bolts10, in the usual manner. The bed plate 9, is of step formation in crosssection, the lower portion of which embraces the needle cylinder, as at11, the middle portion being greater in diameter and forming an annularrecess or chamber 12, and the upper portion of still greater diameterand forming a seat 13, for rotatably confining the cam cylinder inproper position with relation to the needle cylinder. The cam cylinderhas an inner circumferential flange 14L, to limit the downward movementof the needles, the heels 15 of which project beyond the ribs, asplainly shown in Fig. 2, and suitably secured to the upper edge of thecam cylinder is a top plate 16, to span the space between the cam andneedle cylinder for the purpose of preventing dirt and dust fromentering therebetween.

the upper edge of an adjust Formed in the side of the cam cylinder andextending through the top plate is a slot 17, through which needles maybe inserted or removed from the needle cylinder. The method of removingor inserting a needle into the needle cylinder is as follows: As theneedle cylinder remains stationary, the cam cylinder is rotated untilthe slot therein registers with the slot in the needle cylinder fromwhich it is desired to insert or from which to remove a needle. Inremoving a needle the same is raised until its heel engages the springband, which limits its upward movement. The upper end of the needle isnext drawn outwardly and downwardly (as plainly indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 2) against the tension of the spring band, until the heelthereof clears the band, after which the same may be withdrawn withoutfurther hindrance, and without disturbing the remaining needles in thecylinder. In order to insert a needle the spring band is drawn out ofits seat by any suitable tool, and held until the heel of the needle ispassedover the same, when the tool is withdrawn and the needle willfreely slide into its slot. As the weakest part of a needle is at thepoint of the heel, and in consequence of which the most breakage occursat that point, it frequently happens that the lower broken off sectionassumes such a position as to become jammed between the cam and needlecylinder, owing to the small intervening space, and thus interfere withthe free rotation of the cam cylinder and necessitating the removal ofthe needle cylinder in order to displace the obstruction, with theconsequent loss of time and expenditure of labor. It is for the purposeof overcoming this difficulty that the annular chamber 12 is providedfor, which is located beneath the ends of the ribs on the needlecylinder, and permits the broken needle part, as shown by dotted linesin Fig. 2, to drop down in its slot until one arm thereof engages theflange on the cam cylinder, and by the action of the moving flange andthe vibration of the machine gradually works around the edge of theflange and drops into the chamber, and out of reach of any of theworking parts of the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed is 1. In a knittingmachine, the combination with a needle cylinder, of means for releasablyholding the needles against lateral movement, a cam cylinder cooperatingwith the needle cylinder to'form a housing for the needles, said camcylinder having a slot formed therein to permit a needle to be swungdownwardly into said slot to effect a release of the needle and itsremoval from its cylinder.

2. In a knitting machine, the combination of a needle-cylinder embodyingradially disposed ribs, a bed-plate having an annular offset locatedbeneath the lower ends of said ribs to form a chamber, and a rotatablecamcylinder mounted on the bed-plate in spaced relation with theneedle-cylinder and having.

an internal annular stop-flange located above the lower ends of saidribs to limit the downward movement of the needles, said flange beingnarrow in vertical cross-section to permit the angular broken heelportion of a needle to work around the same between the ribs and dropinto said chamber.

3. In a knitting machine, the combination of a needle cylinder embodyingradially disposed rlbs, a circumferential groove intersecting said rlbs,a yielding band seated 1n said groove to hold the needles against lat-'AUGUST O. TIMMING.

Witnesses:

CHARLES A. HAGERTY, GEORGE W. SANDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

